TRP: Raef and Ombre (The Trickster)
Castle courtyard. Day: 352 ' ' Sunlight danced off the coin as it spun through the air before it fell heavily towards the earth only to be caught, palmed, and reappear in the next hand. ' ' It soared once more and the trick was repeated. ' ' Raef looked out across the courtyard as he caught it, palmed it, and repeated. It was a beautiful day and he felt better, as if everything was fine in that moment. And maybe it was. IZZY Ombre had been enjoying the sun out by the lake -- a completely normal and innocent fox with a few too many tails, just lounging in the sun. She hadn't been leaving the library much lately, except to go down to the kitchen, and it was nice to get out for a while. ' ' She was getting a bit too warm, though. She rolled around in the grass for a bit, deciding whether she really wanted to get up, then flopped back onto her belly and stood, trotting back towards the castle with sleepy eyes. ' ' Those sleepy eyes caught a glimmer, though, and she perked up a little, curious. Aha. Raef was in the courtyard. She thought about turning invisible and creeping around to spook him, but he did have those freaky warlock powers, now. She didn't wanna get elritch blasted. She remembered what Goro'd been like that that spell, and all. ' ' So as she sauntered along, she shifted back into her human form, the little belled anklet she always wore jangling and announcing her presence. She got a better look at what Raef was doing as she got more on his level, and perked up even more. ' ' It was a coin trick. Hey, she knew that one. Neat. She wondered where he'd learned it. ' ' "Hey," she chirped, waving from the other side of the fountain. "That's neat. Where'd you learn it?" MINK The jingling caught his attention and he caught the coin one more time. He smiled at Ombre, raising his hand in turn. It'd been awhile; it was nice to see her again. She was always in a good mood... something tickled the back of his mind, a vague memory, nothing he could pinpoint. She always did that. ' ' "Hey." He rolled the coin between his fingers, glancing down at it. "Mmm...I learned it as a kid." He shrugged. IZZY "Yeah?" She tilted her head to one side. Man, that didn't tell her much. Raef was pretty old -- elves were like that. But so were kitsune. They might be about the same age, actually. ' ' She plucked a gold piece out of the air and danced it across her knuckles, spinning it as she went so it flashed in the light. "Can you do ... this one?" she challenged, grinning, and flipped the coin into the air with a bright ting, snatching it in her other fist and then opening that hand to reveal it was empty. She used to do that one in her shows. Folks loved it. MINK "Long fuckin' time ago." Raef chuckled before grinning. "Uh-huh." He rolled the coin across his knuckles, flipped it, caught it, and showed his hand: it was gone. "Can you..." He stood up for this one; she was too tall. He flicked the coin, caught it, showed both hands to be empty then he reached up to where her hair fell and pulled out the coin. He quirked an eyebrow. IZZY Ombre bounced in place a little, delighted. She did the trick back at him, adding in a spin in place -- jingling -- and a flourishing bow when she plucked the coin from supposed thin air. ' ' "That's great!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know you could do stage magic! Oh my gosh, I haven't performed in such a long time." MINK Raef laughed, smiling. "Fuck...it's been..." His eyes followed the coin. He frowned and grabbed it. It was fucking rude of him, but...He pulled out his coin. "...how old're you?" IZZY "Oh, y'know, three hundred and ..." She made a vague sound and waved a hand just as vaguely. "Kitsune are like elves. We live a real long time." Then she grinned, pulling her shoulders up and closing her eyes for a second. "But we don't look a day over one-fifty, huh?" MINK Raef snorted. "One-twenty-five," he corrected. He turned both coins over, looking at the fox mask emblazoned on them; they were identical. Fuck. How he didn't realize..."Still got that jester oufit with the bell?" IZZY She gave a pleased pfff and jangled her anklet. "Got the bells! Gosh, did you see me when you were a kid? I did go to Alabaster sometimes." She tapped her lips, looking at him closely. MINK "...yeah..." He held his hand down to just below his hip. "I was 'bout this high. Nearly froze my ass off to see you." IZZY "Nooo!" She bounced in place again, jangling excitedly. "Oh my goddess, I do remember you! You were tiny," she crowed, pressing her hands to her cheeks. "See! I told you you'd get better at the trick!" MINK Raef flushed darkly. He could remember that. Fuck, he didn't believe it, still didn't if he was honest with himself. He also couldn't fuckin' believe that he had known Ombre for a year and hadn't realized...shit, the Trickster had... ' ' "Fuck." He laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Heh. You changed my fuckin' life." IZZY "Pssshhh." She batted her hands at him, half out of delight and half dismissive. "You're gonna give me a big head with that kinda talk." MINK Raef shook his head and gave back the newer coin. "Shit. You should do that stuff again." IZZY "Can't blow my cover." She flipped the coin up and caught it again. "I'm dead, yanno?" she said brightly. "Got a grave and everything." ' ' For -- probably the first time? -- she wondered if any adventurers had ever gone back to Volpae's tomb after the Runners. The puzzles wouldn't be reset, and there wasn't any neat magical stuff, or anyone to hand it out, anyway. It was an empty grave, now. MINK "You talk pretty well for a dead guy." Raef followed the movement of the coin with his eyes. It was hard believing it. Volpae - The Trickster - had given him something his parents never had, and now he was standing with that same person. Had been for a year now. ' ' "Ombre...damn..." She was still Ombre, the same quirky fox, but he remembered waiting for her to come back to Alabaster, but she never had. "...this is fuckin' strange." He chuckled, embarrassed. IZZY Ombre giggled, kind of embarrassed and kind of tickled by him looking embarrassed. There weren't a lot of Volpae fans running around. There were elves from before the Calamity around, still, but most of them either hadn't liked her shows at the time, or they'd outgrown it. Not a lot of happiness and frivolity in Alabaster -- at least, not that she'd ever seen. ' ' That was part of why she liked Mishka. He knew how to make things fun. He was a baby, though, compared to her and Raef. She'd already been in her tomb by the time he'd even been born. Raef actually remembered. ' ' She kept bouncing in place happily. "Gosh. Yeah! It is! I never meet people from back in the old days!" Then she just couldn't hold it in anymore and threw her arms around his neck, still bouncing and jingling. MINK Ombre bounced. He loved it. Loved that she was happy, that he was happy. Happiness felt so far away at times, but...it was here. Now. It was -- ' ' -- she wrapped her arms around him. ' ' Oh. ' ' It was like being hugged by a friend, she was a friend, but she had also done more in one little moment in his life than she'd ever know. ' ' He grinned, wrapped his arms around her waist (she was too damn tall), and squeezed. "Heh. Had to stick around to show you the trick." He laughed softly. "Fuck. You're gonna have to show me more." IZZY "You bet!" She gave him a squeeze and let go, a little more embarrassed that she'd hugged him. She didn't usually do that. Except with Goro, sometimes, because she knew it was fine, except when it wasn't 'cause he wasn't in a huggy mood. Anyway. "I got so many tricks. And you've got real magic, now, too! We could go on tour!" She bounced excitedly again, knowing she was getting ahead of herself, but gosh, what a fun idea. "Volpae the Trickster and her dashing assistant!" MINK Ombre's eagerness was infectious. If she had asked him that when he was a kid, he would have jumped at the idea. Even now, with Az and Tikva...with Hansel, Goro..., he liked the idea. ' ' "I need a better name than 'dashing assistant' even if it's true," he answered with a grin. IZZY "Ooh, good point." Ombre thought for a second, tapping her lips again, then broke into another grin. "Raef the Rapscallion!" she proclaimed, rolling her Rs dramatically. MINK "Volpae and the Trickster with Raef the Rapscallion." Raef tapped his chin in thought. "I like it." IZZY She giggled again, stilling bouncing, but then it faded a little. "Aw, you have a kid, though. Can't really be travelling all over the place with a whole family. I don't leave the castle much these days, anyway," she added sheepishly. MINK Raef chuckled. Az would travel if he could. He didn't, because of him. Tikva, though...she needed to be somewhere safe until Gruumsh was fuckin' killed. "Oh...we'll fix that. I'm always goin' into town. Come with me." IZZY Ombre gave a delicate sort of psshh. She stood on her tippy-toes, tapping her heels together to jangle the anklet. "Nahh. Yanno. It's safer here at the castle, and stuff." MINK It was. For now. ' ' He brushed the thought aside. "Offer'll stand." He smiled. "C'mon. We can do shit here." IZZY She beamed. "Yeah! I bet I can teach you some new stuff!" MINK Raef grinned back. He'd fuckin' love that. "Anymore coin tricks?" He paused for a second. " Or with that hand." It had both been scary and thrilling to see. IZZY "Oooh." She snapped her fingers, summoning up a spectral mage hand over her head. It shimmered a brassy color and sparkled a little. "Ya mean this one?" It reached down and ruffled his hair. MINK Raef's nose wrinkled a little at the ruffling, but it was through a smile. "Yeah, that one." He'd loved it as a kid. Still did. Roddy could do it, too. IZZY "Ohh, I bet I can teach you!" MINK Raef arched an eyebrow, skeptical even though the idea made his heart jump. "Really?" IZZY "You bet!" Ombre hopped in place, from one foot to the other, then grabbed Raef's elbow to start pulling him inside. "I can teach anyone anything. Promise." MINK Raef didn't need the pull to follow her in, picking up his step. It had been a long, long time since he felt excited - and that was it. "Yer gonna have to stick around then so I can show you a better trick." IZZY "Oooh! Tradesies." She skipped along, then contritely slowed down so he could keep up. "Gosh, before the Calamity, there used to be this college outside where Sienna Springs is now, and they were all real snobby, but sometimes the lower classmen would come to my shows, and after, I'd get all disguised and hang out and chat with them, and we'd swap pages in our spellbooks." ' ' She stopped chattering and ducked her head, looking a little embarrassed. MINK It sounded like a hell of a time. Raef grinned. "Wish I'd been there." He paused. "Hey. I can see what I've got. We can trade." IZZY "Oh, you've got that warlock book, though." She wrinkled her nose a little. "I mean, you know, no offense and stuff, but it's different, I think?" She thought about it. "I'm not sure, though." MINK "Damn." Raef sighed before smiling s little. "I'll trade you a trick then. Somethin' new." IZZY "Yeah! Bet you I know'em all already, though," she teased. MINK Raef waved his hand. "Bet you I'll teach you somethin' different. You won't know it." IZZY Ombre grinned. "How much you got to bet on it?" MINK Raef ruffled his hair. "Mmm...What d'ya want?" IZZY "Gosh." She hadn't even thought about it. "I dunno. A favor?" MINK He smiled. "Deal." IZZY END Category:Text Roleplay